Method of excavating and producing foundations



G. B. SIPE METHOD QF EXCAVATING AND PRODUCING FOUNDATIONS A ril 10, 1928.

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April 10, 1928. 1,665,797

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M ///7 W glwuqmf z METHOD OF EXCAVATING AND PRODUCING FOUNDATIONS G. B. SIFE Filed Nov. 6. 1923 Patented Apr. 10, 1928.

UNITED STAT GEORGE B. SIPE, OF ,SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA.

METHOD OF EXCAVATING AN-DPRODUCING FOUNDATIONS.

Application filed November 6, 1923.

The present invention relates to the provision of foundations andwhile particularly well adapted to the construction of build ings in cities where considerable excavating is necessary, and where adjoining buildings, streets, and other private or municipal propertymust be protected against daina e, it is also applicable to the construction or foundations for dams, retaining walls and other structures where some excavation is necessary for. footings etc.

Among the principal objects of the present invention isthe provision of a method by. which the main body portionv of the outerv wall of thefoundation, or a portion thereof, may be, initially placed and extended tobed rock before excavating within the walls of the foundatiomthus providing an effective support for the adjacent properties without the necessity, of resorting to shoring, needling or, underpinning. This may be, accomplished without subjecting thesoil to excessivevibrations, such as would be likely to cause settlement, cracking or crumbling of'adjacent foundations.

A" further object of the invention, is to provide a method by which the major portion of the excavating for basement, subbasements, footings, etc., may be accomplished as the placing of the foundation progresses. without the necessity of trucks or horse drawn wagons entering theexcavaw tion and without resorting to. the use of steam shovels, elevators. etc. This mayv be accomplished by use of the principle embodied in rotary. drill apparatus which has proven successful in the drilling of oil wells, in which connection reference may be had to United States Patents 1,360,328; 1,379,483 and 1.451.794. granted November 30, 1920-, May 2i. 1921, and Apr-i117, i923. respectively, on the inventions of John C. Stokes. Such apparatuscomprises a hollow drill stem for imparting a rotary movement to a collapsible bit. which hit, in, its working position being supported by a drill collar-or. holder in such a. manner that the bit may cut a hole considerably larger than the diameter of the drillv stem, and yet be withdrawn for sharpening or substitution and replaced, throughthe stem without removingthe stem fromthe hole or, cavity.

A further object of my present invention is to provide a method byv which foundations may be extended to, and into bed rook 1f desired, and; incorporated 1n. the walls, col- Serial No. 673,220.

umns, pilasters of the, superstructureas one homogeneous mass of. concrete and reinforcement. A

Reference may also be had to mycopcndi ing application for Letters Patent on method of producing and placing piles, filed October 26, 1923, Serial NQIGTLOl-J) wherein is disclosed more in detail the manner in which rotary drilling apparatus may be used to excavate cavities extended into the-bed rock, the manner in which reinforceinent may be placed; and the vay in which concrete may be introduced into the cavities forming piles of considerable, length and girth and overcoming the di'lliculties and dangers incident to the use of driven piles or forms, andpneuniatic caissons.

Other objects and advantages of' the, in? vention will appear in the following detailed description, taken in connectionwitli the accompanying drawings, forn'iing a part. of this specification, and inwhich drawings Figure 1 is aview partly in elevation and partly in verticalsectionshowing a portion ofthe foundation in place and a partof'the excavation accomplished.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Figure 1, but showing the excavation completed and a portion of the columns and ,floors completed and in the course of setting.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 of the completed basement floor.

In the drawings. where similar characters designate like or slmilarparts through the views. A design soil which may bemade up of various strata. such as loam, clay, sand, gravel, rock. etc. and Brbed rock, the distance of which. beneath the surface of the soil varies in (lifi'erent localities and which. in some instances is so far beneaththe surface that it is impractical to drive piles, and very expensive as well as dangerous to resort to the-use of pneumatic caissons.

The foundation comprises, in the example shown. outer wall C. the main body portion of which comprises a great number, of piles D arranged in juxtaposed relation and extendingto, or into bed rock; columns or piers E which may be extensions of piles F or may have such piles incorporated thereon; and extendedto or into bedrock, and a plurality of soil compacting or stabilizing piles G which, may if desired also extend to bed rock; and the tops of which may serve as M produced mainly in the process of provid-' ing and placing piles G.

The piles D may be placed along the lines of the foundation, by drilling cavities into the soil, preferably to the bed rock and then filling the cavities with a filler containing cementitious material, such as concrete 5 and relnforcement 6 accordlng to the method set forth in my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 671,015, before the excavation M is formed.

Thus the piles D are in a position to effectively hold back the soil when the excavation M is formed and obviates the necessity of resorting to shoring, needling or underpinning to prevent damage to adjacent properties. The reinforcement 6 may be left exposed at the upper ends of the piles, in order that these piles may be connected with the walls of the superstructure.

It is preferred to dispose the piles D in juxtaposed relation, as closely as possible, and while it is possible tomake these piles of considerable girth and length, if desired a plurality of rows of piles may be disposed along the lines of the foundations.

Having thus provided a firm wall which will sustain the soil and load coming thereupon exteriorly of the lines of the foundation, drilling of cavities 7 in juxtaposed relation, into the soil within the bounds of piles D is, proceeded with in substantially the same manner as set forth in my copending application for patent filed as aforesaid October 26, 1923, Serial No. 671,015, which cavities may extend to the bed rock B or terminate short thereof. As the drilling of the cavity progresses, a removable hollow casing 8 is placed in the cavity to sustain the surrounding soil and after the cavity has been drilled to the extent desired, reinforcement 9, and cementitious material 10, such as concrete are introduced into the cavity to a level slightly below that plane where the floor 11 of the sub-basement J is to be dis posed. The hollow casing 8 is removed as the filling progresses, but before it is withdrawn from the cavity which does not contain the cementitious material and reinforcement, a cover of suitable character is passed downwardly through the hollow casing and caused to rest upon the upper end of the pile G thus formed. This cover may comprise a mass of hemp, rope, or burlap sacks 11 and a disc of wood or metal 12, resting upon the mass 11, so that if the soil caves in above the piles G as the hollow casings are being removed, such will not damage the upper ends of the piles which may not have fully set.

It is thus to be observed that the major portion of the excavation M may be accom plished as the placing of the foundation progresses, without resorting to the use of trucks or horse drawn wagons entering and leaving the excavation with their loads, and without resorting to the use of steam shovels, elevators, etc, it being understood that the material dislodged during the drilling of the cavities may be carried off in the liquid or mud used in the drilling operations, it being possible to pipe this mud to distant points as is done when dredging.

After the piles D and G have set and all soil is removed from above the piles G and within the bounds of piles D, the provision of any characteristics of the foundation, such as the columns E and floors H and K may he proceeded with, such as by the use of forms 12 for the columns, side wall forms 13 vto permit of the introduction of cementitious material between the piles D, and so as to form a smooth inner face for the wall C, and the sealing forms'lt, it being under stood that suitable reinforcements 15 may be placed in the forms H and K and ex tended through the columns E and into the cementitious material filling, between the piles D, as clearly shown in Figure 3 of'the drawings. Suitable reinforcements .16 in the columns E may be joined to the projecting upper portions of the reinforcements 9 of the piles Gr, before the introduction of cementitious material into the forms 12, and likewise, this reinforcement 16 may extend above the upper portions of columns E, so that it, together with the reinforcement 6 of the side walls may be joined to the walls, columns, and other supports of the superstructure, not shown in the drawings, in order that the superstructure and foundation will be one homogeneous mass of re inforced concrete.

While I have, in the example shown, specifically described this method as applied to the construction of an excavation for a foundation suitable for a building, it is to be understood that this is merely by way of example, since this method may also be applied. where it is desired to incorporate piles, extending to bed rock, as a part of superstructure, such as in the erection of dams and retaining walls and where a portion of the footings may extend into excavations produced by practicing this method.

Also, while I have herein referred to certain patents relating to rotary drills, it is to. be distinctly understood that such are merely by way of example, and that the method may be carried out by the use of other apparatus than that herein disclosed and referred to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of excavating andproducing foundation which includes, drilling cavities into the soil to bed rock along the lines of the foundations, disposing a filler including cementitious material in the cavities to form piles extending to the surface from the bed rock, subsequently drilling cavities into the major portion of the soil within the bounds of said piles, and disposing a filler including cementitious material into'said last mentioned cavities, partly filling same to form piles terminating short of the height of the first mentioned piles.

2. A method of excavating and producing foundation which includes, drilling cavities into the soil along the lines of the f0unda tions, disposing a filler including cementitious material in the cavities to form piles extending to the surface, drilling cavities into the soil within the bounds of said piles, and disposing a filler including cementitious material into said last mentioned cavities, partly filling same to form piles each abutting with a plurality of surrounding piles terminating short of the height of said first mentioned piles.

3. The method of excavating and producing foundations which includes forming cavities into the soil to hard base material along the lines of the foundation, disposing a cementitious filler in said cavities to form foundation walls extending from the hard base to the surface, forming cavities in the soil in the area between the foundation walls, disposing a filler in each of said last mentioned cavities, of cementitious material and partially filling each of said last mentioned cavities to a plane below the tops of the foundation walls, removing the surplus material from the area between the foundation walls above the last mentioned piles, and forming a concrete floor on the top of the last mentioned piles in connected relation with the foundation walls.

4. A method of excavating and producing foundations, which includes, providing the bounding walls of the foundation to at least the ground level, drilling cavities into the soil within the bounds of said walls, disposing removable hollow casings in the cavities as they are formed, to sustain the surrounding soil, disposing a filler including cementitious material and reinforcement into said cavities with the cementitious material terminating short of the top ends of the rein forcement and withdrawing the hollow casings as the filling progresses, and placing a cover for the top of the cementitious material and reinforcement, before fully withdrawing the hollow casings from the soil;

A method of excavating and producing foundations which includes providing bounding walls of the foundation; drilling cavities into the major portion of the soil within the bounds of said walls; disposing removable casings in the cavities as they are formed to sustain the surrounding soil; disposing a filler including cementitious material into said cavities to partially fill some of the cavities to form a floor foundation beneath the ground level, and filling others to a greater extent to form columns extending above said floor foundation; and withdrawing the casings as the filling progresses.

(5. A method of excavating and producing foundations which includes providing bounding walls of the foundation; drilling cavities into the major portion of the soil within the bounds of said walls, disposing removable casings in the cavities as they are formed to sustain the surrounding soil; disposing a filler including cementitious material into said cavities to partially fill some of the cavities to form a floor foundation beneath the ground level, filling others to a greater extent to form columns extending above said fioor foundation; withdrawing the casings as the filling progresses; and forming upper floors supported by said columns and said boundary walls.

GEORGE B. SIPE. 

